A DEESIDE man who put his former partner in a headlock after he believed that she had stayed out longer than she did on a night out has been sentenced.

Nathan Waller, of Summersville Close in Connah's Quay, appeared before Caernarfon Crown Court (currently sitting at Llandudno Magistrates) for sentencing on Monday (September 16).

The 26-year-old had previously pleaded guilty to a count of intentional strangulation against his former partner Claire Williams.

Elen Owen, prosecuting told the court that the incident took place on August 4 of last year.

The night before, Ms Williams had been out with her mother and the defendant's sister.

Waller, who was at another address, believed that she had come home 'far later' than she actually had and became 'annoyed' by this.

The next day, he visited his then-partner's home and began 'screaming and shouting', the prosecution said.

When the complainant was brushing her teeth, Waller approached her from behind and 'put her in a headlock' until she 'struggled to breathe'.

He then let go, before strangling her a second time, the court heard.

The attack led to Ms Williams having suffered from depression and 'having to build herself back up emotionally'.

Waller denied the allegations against him at interview and, at the time of the offence, he had been the subject of a community order for separate driving offences.

Jemma Gordon, defending, said that the strangulation during the incident had been 'short-lived' and that the defendant had no previous domestic offences to his name.

She added that he was 'keen to ensure that something like this doesn't happen again'.

Judge Nicola Saffman sentenced Waller to 18 months in jail, suspended for 18 months. 

He will have to take part in 35 accredited programme sessions and complete 15 rehabilitation activity requirement days.

A restraining order of five years was also made, restricting him from accessing his ex-partner or mentioning her on social media.

Judge Saffman said: "You need to get yourself into a position where you never, ever do this again.

"You need to effectively rewire your brain, so that you don’t do this to anybody else. You have to understand that you could kill somebody."